"The stupidity and wickedness of this custom is scarcely possible
to exaggerate," said one Victorian home journal on the subject
of corset-wearing. Corsets -- tightly laced, rigidly constructed
undergarments that exaggerated the female physique by constricting
the abdomen and pushing up the breasts -- were worn by most middle-
and upper-class women from puberty until death. Despite their
painful fit and numerous health risks, they remained in fashion
until the 1920s. Beauty standards prompted women to further embellish
their figures at the expense of comfort by wearing ruffled underskirts
called petticoats, often two or three at a time, that made their
buttocks appear enormous in contrast to their willowy, corseted
waistlines. Victorian men got off easy; their underwear, usually
of the woolen long-john variety, was merely itchy.